In the current political environment, where we seem to have…well, lost our collective minds or at least our ability to be civil, Sen. Marco Rubio gave a speech on the floor of the Senate that is worth taking the eight or so minutes to listen to in its entirety. Continue reading “Sen. Marco Rubio on How We Talk Politics”

As a former resident of Jacksonville, FL we routinely got entertainment from former Congressperson Corrine Brown, who represented parts of the city for years. Brown was known for her barely literate pronouncements on various topics, which often showed either her total lack of knowledge on her subject or were said in such a way as to make normal people laugh out loud and English teachers cringe. (Even now, I chuckle at myself because of the temptation to post YouTube links to Corrine’s ‘greatest hits’ but I am so far resisting the urge).

Upon facing several federal indictments, Brown lost in her re-election bid last fall. However, there is hope for our ongoing amusement in the person of Maxine Waters, who represents a district in CA. Waters has also provided a number of….um, interesting quotes over the years and, though it is still early, appears to be ramping up for this Congressional term. Continue reading “What Do Maxine Waters and Corrine Brown Have In Common?”

During an interview Sunday during Fox’s Super Bowl pre-game lead in, President Trump was asked about relations with Russia and Vladimir Putin. When asked he said that he respected Russian President Putin. When pressed on that, and the interviewer saying that Putin and killed lots of his own people, Trump said “There are a lot of killers” and equated Putin’s killing of political opponents to the US and the war in Iraq. Continue reading “Trump on Putin (again)”

And the week brings another story of the distressing state of public higher education….unfortunately, another in an increasingly frequent series of stories where US universities are the site of authoritarian violence. Continue reading “Where Free Speech Went to Die”

Hearing the latest news item on US foreign relations, I was preparing my thoughts until the time that I could get to a computer and put them down, only to hear of another story just begging for comment before I could even get the first post out. Continue reading “Could We Get a Grown Up?”

The biggest news item of the last week-probably even overshadowing President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee-is the President’s executive order on travel to the US by certain foreign nationals. The topic has certainly a lot of passion around it and so I want to share some thoughts.

Firstly, if you are someone who thinks that anyone who believes we need to tighten our immigration laws is a xenophobic bigot or racist, there is no need to read further-this column isn’t for you. If you are someone who thinks that anyone that has concerns over President Trump’s executive orders on immigration is trying to destroy the country from the inside and doesn’t care about terrorism, this isn’t for you, either.

Below I have tried to put some thoughts on paper about a topic upon which I am pulled in several ways and directions. It is somewhat lengthy, in large part because it is nuanced and not a blanket rant that paints a broad brush without understanding that the topic is complex. I have to admit to being somewhat outside of the black and white opinions that seem to exist on this topic. I have sought out opinions from those who I know normally have different perspectives just so that I can better understand the issues and concerns at hand. However, I will admit that has been difficult as the issue generates such intense passion. And in talking to a friend who is a political commentator, he has found similar experiences Continue reading “On Travel Bans, Immigration and Executive Orders…”

Among the long list of executive orders that President Trump signed in his first week in office was one designed to cut federal funding to so-called “sanctuary cities”, those that refuse to enforce immigration laws or to aid federal law enforcement in any efforts to do so. These cities (and in some cases states and counties) feel that federal law is wrong and they have announced that they will not only refuse to comply but will refuse to help federal law enforcement that is attempting to carry out federal law. Continue reading “On Sanctuary Cities”